Improvement in trunks



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IMPROVEMEN TIN TRUNKS.

Specification forming part of Letters P To all whom fit may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. TAYLOR, of Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful ImprovementsinTrunks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making part of this specification, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon, like letters indicating like parts whereverthey occur.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use my invention, lwill proceed to describe it.

Myinvention relates to trunks 5 andconsists incertain new and usefulimprovements in the construction and arrangement of the tray; also, incertain mechanical devices, by the use of which the tray may, or maynot, as desired, be raised with the top of the trunk; also, in the novelconstruction and arrangement of certain metallic devices for firmlysupporting and securely holding the top ofthe trunk in position whenraised, and allowing it to descend only when properly released; also, inthe construction of the buckles for fastening the straps of the trunks,and in the locking devices, &c.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my improved trunkwith the cover raised. Fig. 2 is a cross vertical section of my trunkclosed. Fig. 3 are views of my stay devices for supporting the top ofthe trunk detached. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are also views of other partsdetached; and Figs. 7 and S are sectional views on the lines x and y yof Fig. 6.

As is well known, the trunks now used by travelers are, for certainpurposes, required to be strong and capacious, with numerouscompartments, so arranged as to be conveniently reached. When thusconstructed their tops, especially when packed, are heavy, and, unlesssecurely fastened when raised, are liable to fall and injure the partyengaged in packing orunpaeking the trunk. To guard against accidents ofthis kind, to attach and detach the tray from the top at will, and tofurnish secure lockingdevices, are some of the principal objects of myinvention.

I construct my trunk A in any ofthe usual atent No. 88,992, dated April13, 1869.

l forms and out of any suitable materials, protecting its outer edgesand corners with metal straps or guards.

Within the trunk I place a tray, B, constructed so as to form,practically, two trays, C and D, by hinging an Lipper one, D, to the topof the back of the main tray B, so that it may shut into it, and at thesame time leave sufficient room below it for a compartment, which may bedivided up by partitions a, as shown in Fig. 2, while the upper tray, D,wiil still be deep enough to admit of being divided off by partitions b,and also of beingprovided with a hinged cover, c, as shown in the samefigure.

The outer or main tray B, I protect and strengthen with metalliccorner-pieces c, and also attach both to it and to the inner tray, D, ametallic catch, f, shaped and formed as clearly shown in Fig. 2. One ofthese catches is for supporting the cover c when raised, and the otherfor supporting the inner tray when it is raised.

The trayB, with its upper and lower compartments or trays-C and D, eachpartitioned off into separate divisions, and thus strongly andcompactlyconstructed,I arrange within the trunk in such a manner that it may ormay not loe raised with the top of the same, as desired. This Iaccomplish in two ways, as hereinafter explained.

Near the bottom of the inner rear side of the top of the trunk, I attachmetallic pro jections d, which enter recesses or holes made in the rearside of the tray B for that purpose, and in such a manner that when thetray B is carried up with the top of the trunk, it will be supported bythese metallic projections catching against a metallic lip on the upperside of the recesses in the rear side of the tray; and also so that whenthe tray is not carried up with the top of the trunk, they may slip bythe metallic lips on the upper side of the recesses.

The tray B, I connect or lock on its front side to the front side of thetop of the trunk in either of two ways, or in both at the same time, sothat it may be safely raised with it. This I accomplish by placing onthe inner side of the front of the top of the trunk a sliding bolt, E,provided with a couple of projections,

g, arranged so as to move under two corresponding projections, 71., onthe front side of the tray, as shown in Figs. l and 4.

rJhe sliding bolt F., I also provide with a lug, t', which, when thebolt is in position, projects through the face of thetop, so that thebolt can be readily operated from the outside. By the use of thissliding bolt, arranged in the manner described, it will be readily seenthat the tray may be raised or not with the top of the trunk at will.

Instead ot' a sliding boli, E, constructed with projections g forlocking under the projections /L on the tray, and with a lug, i, t'oroperating it, I accomplish the same thing by attaching to the front sideof the tray a metallic spring-plate, F, and to inner front side of thetop of thetrnnk a metallic shoulder, j, for it to catch against; and byconstructing and pivoting the clasp G ot the lock, so that when raised,as shown by the red lines in Fig. 2, its upper end will turn inanopening in the top made `for that purpose, and strike against andrelease the springFfrom the shoulder j, as clearly shown in t-he'samefigure. When this latter device is used the tray may be lifted with thetop or not, as desired, by simply moving the hasp G, as described andshown.

Anotherim portant improvement in my trunk consists in my devices forholding` up the top when raised. In constructing these, I make anL-shaped piece of metal, H, ofthe requisite length to extend along' thelower inner edge of one end of the top, and with a slot, 7c, in one ofits sidespas clearly shown in Fig. 3, and to the other, on its innerside, I pivot, at l, an arm or lever, I, which is provided at its lowerend with shoulder m broad enough to project over the slot 7c, and alsowith a spring', n, so attached as to return the shoulder m to itsposition when moved, and released, as shown in the same iigure.

To this L-shaped metal piece H, I pivot a stay, J, by means of a pivotpassing through one end of it, and through the slot 7c, and having onits inner side a broad head, o, to prevent its slipping through, and soarranged that the pivot can slide easily from one end' of the slot tothe other. The device thus constructed I attach securely to the trunk,by fastening the I -shaped metal plate H on the inner lower edge of itstop, and the loose end ot' the stay J to the inner side of the body ofthe same, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

When in position, its operation is very simple. As the top is raised,the pivot connecting the stay J passes along the slot k till it strikesthe shoulder m, which is pressed back,

. and the head o of the pivot passes beyond the shoulder, which is thenreturned to its former position by means of the spring n, andeffecttually prevents the return of the pivot, and, consequently, thestay J, until released, which is done by pulling the end of the arm orlever I to the right, by means of the handle p, as shown in the sameFig. 1.

Another important improvement in my trunk consists in the buckles andtheir connections for not only fastening the straps, but in aiding toprevent any lateral movement of the parts.

To the body of the trunk I attach securely buckle-frames K, constructedand shaped as clearly shown in Fig. 1, and having tongues g, suspendedor pivoted therein, of the form clearly shown in the same figure.

To the front side of the top I attach metallic plates L, with lips orpoints r, which eX- tend on either side of the buckle-frames K, when thetrunk is closed, as shown by the red lines in Fig. l, and which aid inpreventing any lateral movement of' the parts.-

In using the buckles the strap M is passed under the tongue, drawn astightly as desired, when a pin, s, on the under side of the tongue, isforced into a hole in the strap, by pressing the tongue toward thetrunk, and in such a manner as to insure its holding the strap to thesame point to which it may have been drawn. This done, the strap isdrawn a little to the right, then passed over the end of the tongue g,and under the end of the loop ot' the buckle, as clearly shown in Fig.5.

Another improvement in my trunk is in its locking devices, for thepurpose not only of securing' it against being improperly opened, butalso of preventing any lateral movement of its parts.

The lock proper is of peculiar construction. Its hasp G is pivoted in aheavy metal plate, O, which extends down the full length of the hasp oneach side of it, and, With the hasp, enters between the sides of astrong metal plate, P, which is securely attached to the body of thetrunk in such a manner as to be flush with it, as well as with the hasp,when the trunk is locked.

On each end of the trunk I place a locking device, consisting of astrong' metallic plate, N, having a tongue, Q, provided with a shoulder,t,-at its lower end, shaped so as to form a recess, u, as clearly shownin Figs. 6 and 7.

To each end of the body of the trunk I also attach a metallic plate, R,provided with a socket, into which the tongues Q of the plates N enter,when the top of the trunk is brought down, and also provided with asliding bolt, S, to enter the recess u, as clearly shown in Fig. 6.

The sliding bolt S is slotted, and has attached therein a spring, fv,having a pin, w, as shown in Fig. 8, which enters a hole, a', in theplate R, and locks the bolt S in place, and which in turn locks the endof the trunk. It is also provided on its outer end with a littlethumb-catch, b', for withdrawing it When desired. This is done bypressing in the pin @c with any suitable instrument, first, and thenwithdrawing it by means of the thumb-catch. These locking devices on theends of the trunk render it more secure against being iinproperlyopened, and also aid in preventing any lateral motion of the parts.

In this Way I construct a strong trunk, of any size, and provide it Witha useful, convenient, and compact double tray, in such a manner that itmay be attached or detached from the top at will, and from the outside;also, With a metallic stay, for supporting the top, when raised, in sucha manner that it can only fall by design, and also With novel bucklesand locking devices.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A trunk-trayhavin gan inner trayhinged therein, so as to form a lower stationary andan upper movable compartment, and having both compartments subdivided bypartitions, substantially as herein described.

2. The metallic stays f, when constructed and arranged to operatesubstantially as herein described, and for the purpose set forth.

3. So constructing and arranging a tray Within a trunk that it may beattached to or detached from the top or cover of the same, from theoutside, at Will, by a sliding bolt, or by the hasp of the lockoperating a spring, substantially as herein described, or by anyequivalent devices.

4. The device for supporting-the top of the trunk when raised, andlocking it in position,

so that it can be released only by design, consisting of the mechanicalcontrivances constructed substantially as herein described, and arrangedto operate as set forth.

5. The combination of the trunk with the device consisting of the frameK, having pivoted therein a tongue, q, provided with a pin, S, forsecuring the straps, constructed substantially as herein described.

6. The device f'or locking the ends of trunks, consisting of themetallic plate N, provided with tongue Q and shoulder t, and thesocketplate R, provided with the sliding bolt S, constructed andarranged to operate substantially as herein described.

7. In combination, the plate L and frame K of the buckle, whenconstructed substantially as described, for the purpose of preventingany lateral mot-ion of the parts ot' the trunk.

S. In combination, the metallic plate O, in which the hasp is pivoted,with the metallic plate P, when'constructed and arranged substantiallyas herein described, and Afor the purpose set forth.

CHARLES A. TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

GEO. W. FLAVELL, WM. GONNELL.

